For a late-inning, go-ahead home run, Nick Hundley’s line drive shot in the eighth inning Tuesday against the Phillies had more oomph behind it for the Rockies.

“So far this year, yeah,” Hundley said.

Hundley, after turned a Justin De Fratus slider in a 1-2 count into a solo HR to left-center that led the Rockies to a 6-5 victory, calmly walked to the dugout. Then when he got to the top step, Hundley fired up. He high-fived his teammates like he was testing their hand strength.

Rockies outfielder Drew Stubbs is striking out at an alarming rate. In 50 at-bats, he’s struck out 30 times and walked just three times. (Denver Post file photo)

14 … 14 … 18 … 11 … 11 … 11.

Those are the Rockies’ strikeout totals over their last six games. That’s a lot of Ks.

According to Drew Creasman of the Rockies blog Purple Row, the Rockies became only the 11th team in the last 100 years to have six straight games of double-digit strikeouts.

The Rockies whiffed 54 times in their four-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers that concluded Sunday in L.A. That was a Rockies’ team record.

When they struck out 18 times last Friday against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and five relievers, it was a franchise record for the most strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

Manager Walt Weiss has repeatedly said that his team’s two-strike approach at the plate has been wanting. Tuesday, I asked Weiss if the outbreak of Ks could also be the result of the players pressing too hard during the losing streak and trying to do too much in one at-bat.

Weiss said there is something to the theory.

“Sometimes guys feel the weight of the world in their at-bat if we’re not scoring runs, like it’s up to them,” he said. “Then the next guy goes up there and feels that it’s up to him. That can be contagious, infectious. So that could be part of it.”

Finally, here is a final conundrum facing the Rockies. They are hitting .262 as a team, fifth in the National League. But they have scored just 135 runs — 14th in the National League.

Nick Hundley points at first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt while being held back by first base coach Eric Young as he argues a strike call in the eighth inning against the Phillies. (Justin Edmonds, Getty Images)

Nick Hundley looked back at the video of his ejection Monday and came to grips with the check-swing strike call against him. But he didn’t accept his ejection — and he wasn’t about to say the Rockies are close to turning around their losing streak.

The Colorado catcher got tossed in the eighth inning after he flied out to left field. Earlier in the at-bat, first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt handed him strike 2 for a check swing. Hundley didn’t like it and waved his hand at the ump.

Then when Hundley ran through first base, he exchanged some words with Wednestedt.

Colorado Rockies left fielder Corey Dickerson grimaces during a recent game as he walks off the field. Dickerson is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.(John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Los Angeles — Rockies trainer Keith Dugger was a very busy man Sunday morning before the Rockies played the Dodgers.

He’s trying to got Troy Tulowitzki, Jorge De La Rosa and Corey Dickerson back on the field. And trying to get right-hander Jordan Lyles ready for his start on Monday against the Phillies.

Of all the injuries, Dickerson’s is the most worrisome right now.

He aggravated the plantar fasciitis in his left foot while running in the outfield Saturday night. When he made a sudden stop on the warning track, the conditioned flared up. A trip to the 15-day disabled list is a possibility, though Dickerson said he doesn’t think it would help.

“I don’t know if that time would help,” he said. “To heal it, it will take a lot of time, or tearing (the tissue in his foot), to get better. So I don’t know.”

Dickerson is frustrated by the injury, especially because his foot was feeling better on Saturday before he aggravated it.

“Yesterday was the best it has ever felt, and I was running well,” Dickerson said.

Manager Walt Weiss said he’s concerned about Dickerson’s injury. Asked if putting Dickerson on the disabled list was a possibility, Weiss said: “Yeah, but not today, not right now. We will see how it plays out for a couple of days. But it is concerning, because we do know the nature of that injury. It doesn’t go away. He’s been dealing with it. ‘Doogie’ and the staff have been doing a great job with it. But he’s sore today.”

Tulowitzki was out of that starting lineup for the second straight game after experiencing tightness in his left quad in the third inning of Friday night’s game. Tulo went through agility drills Sunday morning and did well. According to manager Walt Weiss, the shortstop would be available to pinch hit “if we have a chance to win the game.”

However, it’s still not clear when Tulo will be back in the starting lineup.

De La Rosa, who was sensational in beating the Dodgers Saturday night — allowing no runs on just two hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 7 1.3 innings — did some light jogging Sunday morning. He re-injured the left groin that cost him the first two weeks of the regular season.

“I hope I can make my next start,” he said. “It’s not as bad as it was early in the season. We have to test it out.”

Lyles, who suffered a nasty contusion on his right hand when the Angels’ Albert Pujols hit a wicked comebacker at him last week, is still scheduled to start on Monday.

“There’s still some swelling,” Weiss said. “But it’s a lot better than I thought it would be.”

“We know that he had some surgery on his appendix and everything went well,” said Tom Runnells, the bench coach who filled in for Weiss. “He’s resting and he will come to (Los Angeles) tomorrow,
and I think he is probably going to be out of commission for a couple of days.”

Weiss, 51, was taken to a hospital because he was experiencing stomach pain and discomfort. The third-year manager left Angel Stadium of Anaheim about two hours before the game began. Rockies head trainer Keith Dugger accompanied Weiss to the hospital.

Weiss began experiencing stomach pain Tuesday night during the Rockies’ 5-2 loss to the Angels.

** Starter Jordan Lyles took a shot off the right hand on a comebacker by Albert Pujols in the first inning. Lyles’ hand swelled up with a grapefruit-sized bruise. He left the game, but said he expects to make his next start.

“It’s not broken, and that’s the good thing,” Lyles said after the game. “I fully intend to make my next start.”

Last season, Lyles fractured his left hand while covering home plate and missed 54 games.

“I was thinking about that as I was walking off the field,” he said. “But luckily nothing is broken. I think I’ll be OK.”

** First baseman Justin Morneau left the game after the eighth inning, replaced by Daniel Descalso.

Runnells said Morneau felt a “little dizzy” after diving for a ball. Given Morneau’s history of concussions, Morneau was removed from the game. Runnells said he didn’t expect Morneau to miss any time.

I believe him. Why? Because there are so many pieces to this puzzle: Tulo’s salary; his health; finding a realistic trade partner; and owner Dick Monfort’s willingness to pull the trigger and ship away the face of the franchise.

This is not a done deal, but it’s a key time for the franchise and for Tulo. In many ways, it’s a tipping point. The sooner it’s resolved, the better.

Contrary to what some Rockies fans think, Tulo, 30, likes Denver and he wants to win with the Rockies, but in my opinion, he doesn’t have faith that the Rockies will be ever be a contender while he’s still in his prime.

So, with the Rockies mired in a 10-game losing streak and having won just four times in their last 20 games, it’s no surprise that Tulo trade talk is starting to boil. Yes, it’s true that Tulo and his agent, Paul Cohen, regularly meet when the Rockies are in Los Angeles. But the fact that Joel Sherman, the highly-connected baseball columnist for the New York Post, was able to get Cohen to talk about the trade talks (on the record) is significant. It was a way to get the trade wheels rolling and gauge the Rockies’ reaction.

So now what? Realistically, who might the Rockies talk to about a possible Tulo trade?

The New York Mets top the list. They talked during the offseason about Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, but the talks didn’t go very far. The Mets need and impact shorstop, and they have some pitching depth they might be willing to deal. There is 2014 National League rookie of the year Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and hot lefty prospect Steven Matz. But the Mets might have trouble absorbing Tulo’s salary, so Colorado might have to eat some of it.

The San Diego Padres appear to be all in to win under GM A.J. Preller, but they are only 17-17 after an extensive offseason makeover and their infield lacks offensive pop. Shortstop Alexi Amarista (.183/.302/.268), second baseman Jedd Gyorko (.215/.279/.329) and third baseman Will Middlebrooks(.194/.245/.337) have been huge disappointments at the plate.

The problem is, the Padres don’t have a lot of pitching depth, and the Rockies will want pitchers in exchange for Tulo.

The Seattle Mariners, expected to contend this season, are stumbling early. Brad Miller, just 25, is finding his way, but his numbers are tame (.239/.304/.380 for a 95 OPS+). As SI.com’s Jay Jaffe pointed out, Miller, along with a young pitcher such as James Paxton or Taijuan Walker could be part of a package deal.

It’s all speculation right now, but the Tulo trade talk heated up much sooner than I expected because the Rockies are playing so poorly.

When I see a homer of this magnitude I can’t help but think of the tape measure shot that Andres Galarraga hit at old Pro Player Stadium against the Marlins. Below is proof that it is one of the longest ever hit.

Friday’s fifth inning at Coors Field was a weird scene. The Dodgers led 2-1 and the rain was pouring down in sheets. But they kept playing — because, by rule, the Rockies had another half-inning to try to rally.

Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon was on second base, after he walked then stole over. Los Angeles pitcher Brett Anderson was hustling his pitches to the plate, soaked with water, trying to get the inning done before even more rain.

Corey Dickerson hit a grounder up the middle to second base. Justin Turner made a nice play to cut off the ball, then throw to first. But Dickerson was safe. And Blackmon, seeing that first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was facing away, broke for home.

In that instance, if Blackmon scores and the Rockies tie, then the game would not be called off. If he’s out, and the rain keeps up, the game can end early and stand at 2-1.

An usher walks past home plate as the tarp covers the field during a rain delay for a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 8, 2015 in Denver. (Justin Edmonds, Getty Images)

Amid the rain delay in Friday night’s game between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the teams’ social media crew decided to engage in a game of tic-tac-toe on Twitter.

The Rockies lost a seventh consecutive game Wednesday, after dropping two against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a doubleheader at Coors Field. The day game was a walk-a-thon disaster. The evening rematch was barely better.

“Bottom line is, we have to play better baseball,” he said. “We’ll see what we’re made of.”

In the seven-game skid, the Rockies are pitching their way into trouble. Starters are getting bounced early. And the lineup, what was supposed to be among the best in baseball, is faltering. Here are the numbers:

That’s when Axford’s 2 1/2-year-old son, Jameson, will throw out the first pitch at Coors Field before the Rockies host the Dodgers.

“It will be pretty cool, and pretty emotional, I imagine,” Axford said. “It’s pretty cool that the Rockies would do this for us.”

Jameson, in case you didn’t know, was bitten by a rattlesnake in March. More specifically, he was bitten twice on his right foot while playing outside the home the family was renting near Scottsdale, Ariz. during spring training.

According to Axford, the snake injected several times more venom than is normal from most rattlesnake bites. As a result, Jameson had to spend four weeks in intensive care at hospitals in Phoenix and Denver. Originally, there were fears he would lose his foot, or at least a toe.

On Monday, he will undergo his first skin-graft surgery, a major step in a long road to recovery. Because Jameson’s right foot has not healed enough to allow him to walk, Jameson will roll his wheelchair onto the Diamond on Friday to make his pitch.

The Rockies’ Justin Morneau high fives teammate Colorado Rockies Carlos Gonzalez after hitting a three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 27, 2015, in Phoenix. (Matt York, The Associated Press)

SAN DIEGO — Rockies manager Walt Weiss is aware of the numbers.

He knows that first baseman Justin Morneau has hit Padres ace James Shields well — a .320 average (16-for-50) with four home runs. Still, Weiss sat Morneau, as well as Troy Tulowitzki, for Sunday’s game against the Padres.

Morneau is not hurt, but he is 0-for-8 in this series.

“There is nothing going on, it’s just a day I targeted for both of them” Weiss said before the game, as the Rockies attempted to break their four-game losing streak.

PHOENIX — Tyler Matzek shuffled to first base in the sixth inning Monday at Chase Field, trying to leg out a grounder with the bases loaded and two outs. The fact he was even batting in that spot — the Rockies led by three runs, but ended up winning by just one — was a vote of confidence for him returning for the later innings.

But one pitch into the bottom of the sixth, a ball to Yasmany Tomas, left Matzek hobbled. He left the game with a left hamstring cramp after just 80 pitches.

“I feel fine,” Matzek said after the game. “It cramped up in a few warmup pitches that inning. Nothing is wrong.”

Matzek allowed five hits and two runs through five. He was hurling a fastball with his best command of the season, despite three walks. And he had a chance to reach the eighth.

“That’s the disappointing thing,” he said. “I had an opportunity to go deep in the game, help our bullpen out a little bit. Then something stupid like this prevented me.”

Manager Walt Weiss said he expects Matzek to make his next start, likely Sunday in San Diego. He said Matzek’s injury wasn’t a tear or a strain of the muscle.

“I don’t think it’s any of those. It was just cramping up on him,” Weiss said.

Matzek leads Rockies starters with a 2.70 ERA over 20 innings. Over 10 starts dating to last season, Matzek’s ERA is even lower — at 1.63 with a 6-2 record. In his past nine starts, he’s allowed five hits or less.

What’s up: He didn’t arrive from Cuba with as much hype as Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, but Tomas certainly has star power. He’d better have it, considering that the D-backs gave him a six-year, $68.5 million contract. He probably will play third base when Arizona hosts the Rockies on Monday night at Chase Field because Jake Lamb is on the disabled list with a foot injury.

With the Rockies and Giants tied at one all in the bottom of the third Saturday, Tulo took Tim Hudson’s 81 mph splitter deep into the left-field stands for his second homer of the season and his 100th career HR at Coors Field.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.